Rotational safety device for firearm

ABSTRACT

A rotational safety device for a firearm is provided that replaces a traditional cross bar safety device and is installed within a trigger mechanism to rotate about an axis. The safety device may include a recessed portion that may be rotationally positioned to face a trigger to allow the trigger to be completely depressed. The safety device also includes one or more locking positions in a range of rotation to be engaged by a guide pin.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/194,507, filed Jun. 27, 2016, which claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/153,072, filed Jan. 12,2014, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,377,260, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Firearms such as rifles, pistols and shotguns have included a safetymechanism to prevent unintended firing of the firearm. Typically, asafety is implemented as a crossbar that may be pushed horizontally inone direction to allow the firearm to be fired and in the oppositehorizontal direction to prevent the firearm from being fired.

Though crossbar safeties are reasonably effective, they havedisadvantages. A crossbar safety can be difficult to engage while aiminga firearm at a target. The crossbar safety is typically engaged with auser's pointer finger in a curled position. Depressing crossbar safetiesin one direction or the other typically moves the firearm itself off atarget. Additionally, it is difficult to determine the state of acrossbar safety by looking at the firearm when the firearm is pointed ata target, and can be a safety concern due to the position of the pointerfinger. A crossbar safety is usually small and not visible when afirearm is being aimed at a target.

What is needed is an improved safety for a firearm.

SUMMARY

The present technology provides a rotational safety device for a firearmthat replaces a traditional cross bar safety device. The safety deviceis easier to operate and easier for a firearm user to assess whether thefirearm can be fired than previous safety systems. The safety device ofthe present technology involves setting a safety to “fire” or to a nofire or “safety on” position by causing a safety member installed withina trigger mechanism to rotate about an axis. In some instances, a leveror other means may be used to rotate a safety member. The safety devicemay include a recessed portion that may be rotationally positioned toface a trigger to allow the trigger to be completely depressed. Thesafety device may also include one or more locking positions in a rangeof rotation, limits on the range of rotation such as pins that engagesurfaces of a firearm, and may be used with a variety of levers or otherdevices to provide rotation.

In some embodiments, a safety member for providing a rotational safetyfor a firearm may include a cylindrical portion, a recessed portion anda connection portion. The recessed portion may exist within thecylindrical portion. The connection portion may also exist within thecylindrical portion and may be used to couple the cylindrical portion toan external member that provides rotation. The rotational safety devicemay be installable in a trigger mechanism of a firearm and configured torotate within the trigger mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a safety system and a trigger mechanism.

FIG. 2 illustrates an end view (bottom left of FIG. 2), top view (topleft of FIG. 2) and side view (bottom right of FIG. 2) of a safetymember 130.

FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of a safety member.

FIG. 4 illustrates a safety member in a first rotational position withina trigger mechanism.

FIG. 5 illustrates a safety member in a second rotational positionwithin a trigger mechanism.

FIG. 6 illustrates a firearm having a rotational safety device with afirst lever.

FIG. 7 illustrates a user of a firearm using the rotational safetydevice of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates a firearm having a rotational safety device with asecond lever.

FIG. 9 illustrates a user of a firearm using the rotational safetydevice of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative guide pin.

FIG. 11 illustrates another alternative guide pin.

FIG. 12 illustrates a safety member for use with the guide pin of FIGS.10 and 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present technology provides a rotational safety device for a firearmthat replaces a traditional cross bar safety device. The safety deviceis easier to operate and assess whether the firearm can be fired thanprevious safety systems. The safety device of the present technologyinvolves setting a safety to “fire” or to a no fire or “safety on”position by causing a safety member installed within a trigger mechanismto rotate. In some instances, a lever or other means may be used torotate a safety member.

The safety device may include a recessed portion that may berotationally positioned to face a trigger to allow the trigger to becompletely depressed. The safety device may also include one or morelocking positions in a range of rotation, limits on the range ofrotation such as pins that engage surfaces of a firearm, and may be usedwith a variety of levers or other devices to provide rotation.

When a lever is used, the lever may extend from the trigger frame upalong a side of the firearm and may be engaged by a thumb or finger ofthe firearm user. The lever may be moved in such a manner as to rotate atrigger member that provides the safety setting. Hence, when the leveris moved to a first position, the safety member rotates to a positionthat sets the safety device in a “safety on” state. When the lever ismoved to a second position, the safety member is rotated out of thesafety on state and into a “fire” state. The lever may be moved forwardor backward to rotate the safety member, which results in togglingbetween the safety positions, with a thumb or quick swipe of one or morefingers without removing a use's hand from the firearm. Manipulating alever that extends up a side of the firearm is much easier than pressinga traditional safety button using a single finger in a bent position,which often requires removing the trigger finger from the trigger.

The safety device mechanism may also provide a much easier way todetermine whether a firearm safety is turned on or off. For atraditional safety pin, a user of a firearm must look at the pin housedinside a trigger frame to determine if a portion of the pin, usuallywith red coloring to it, is extending from the trigger frame in aparticular direction. Hence, a user must view a small part of thetrigger area of previous firearms at a particular angle to look for thepin. The present trigger mechanism includes a lever that can be seenfrom multiple angles, and even while aiming the firearm at a target. Assuch, a user of the firearm may quickly determine whether the safety ison without removing the gun from a target, but rather while maintainingthe gun aimed at a particular target.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a safety system and a trigger mechanism.Safety system includes first screw 110, lever 120, safety member 130,and second screw 140. Trigger mechanism includes trigger 180, triggerpin 190, and trigger housing 150. The safety system and a triggermechanism may be used in a firearm such as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, orother firearm. The details of a particular firearm, such as a barrel,sight, and other parts, are not shown in FIG. 1 for purposes ofsimplicity.

First screw 110 is used to attach lever 120 to safety member 130. Secondscrew 140 is used to secure safety member 130 to trigger housing 150.The screws may each attach to a connection portion of the safety member.A connection mechanism may include threads for receiving the screw orother mechanisms configured to attaching the safety member to anotherpart. Though screws are used to assemble the safety system and couple itto the trigger housing, other devices and parts may be used to achievethis purposes.

A guide pin 170 may be installed into trigger housing 150. The guide pinis coupled to a spring 160 which provides a force on guide pin 170towards the safety member 130. The safety member 130 includespositioning apertures (see FIG. 2-3) to receive the guide pin when thesafety member is positioned at a “fire” position and when at a “safetyon” position. The guide pin 170 may engage the positioning apertureswhen the safety member 130 is at the “fire”, “safety on” position, orother positions.

FIG. 2 illustrates an end view (bottom left of FIG. 2), top view (topleft of FIG. 2) and side view (bottom right of FIG. 2) of a safetymember 130. FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of a safety member.Safety member 130 may include a recessed portion (or notch) 210, a guide220, positioning apertures 250, and position pins 230 and 240. As shownin the end view, portions of safety member 130 may be cylindrical inshape. Some portions may be cylindrical but have a different radius atother portions. For example, the portion that includes recessed portion210 may have smaller radius than the portion that includes position pins230 and 240. Having multiple radius lengths may help maintain the safetymember 130 in position when installed within a trigger mechanism.

The recessed portion may enable the trigger to be pulled far enough tofire the firearm. When safety member 130 is rotated into a positionassociated with the safety being “on”, the recessed portion may not befacing the trigger. In this position, the recessed portion 210 may befacing up, down, or otherwise away from the trigger, and a depressedtrigger will engage an outer surface of safety member 130 other thanrecessed portion 210. The outer surface of safety member 130 other thanthe recessed portion prevents a trigger from being depressed enough tofire the firearm. When safety member 130 is rotated into a positionassociated with the safety being “off”, the recessed portion 210 facesthe trigger which allows the trigger to be depressed enough to fire thefirearm. In particular, the trigger may be depressed into the recessedportion when the safety member 130 is rotationally positioned such thatthe recessed portion faces the trigger.

As mentioned with respect to FIG. 1, the positioning apertures 250 maybe engaged by guide pin 170. As the safety member 130 is rotated betweena safety “on” position and safety “off” position, the guide pin 170 mayengage the positioning apertures 250 by extending into an aperture as italigns with pin 170. A safety member 130 may include one or morepositioning apertures 250. Each aperture may include cone or otherwiseslanted sidewall.

The cone or slanted side wall may make it easier for the positioning pinto “click” into place inside the aperture but still allow the guide pin170 to disengage from the aperture when the safety position is changedby a user.

Safety member 130 may include a positioning aperture wherever a lockableposition is desired. For example, safety member 130 may include apositioning aperture at a rotational position where the safety iscompletely on and a rotational position where the safety would becompletely off. Guide 220 may guide the guide pin 170 and/or keep thepositioning pin in place and aligned with the positioning apertures asthe safety member 130 is rotated.

Position pins 230 and 240 may be used to stop rotational movement of thesafety member 130 by engaging a surface of a trigger mechanism, firearmsurface, or other object. In some embodiments of the present technology,there may be a first position pin to stop rotation of safety member 130in one direction and a second position pin to stop rotation of safetymember 130 in a second direction.

FIG. 4 illustrates a safety member in a first rotational position withina trigger mechanism. In FIG. 4, the safety member 130 is installed intoa trigger mechanism and position pin 230 is engaged with a surface ofthe trigger mechanism. When in this position, the safety member 130 maynot be rotated any further in a clockwise position.

FIG. 5 illustrates a safety member in a second rotational positionwithin a trigger mechanism. The safety member 130 in FIG. 5 isrotationally positioned such that position pin 230 is engaged with asurface of the trigger mechanism. When in this position, the safetymember 130 may not be rotated any further in a counter-counter-clockwiseposition.

In operation, a user of a firearm that includes the safety system and atrigger mechanism would move lever 120 forward or backward along thelength of the firearm. FIG. 6 illustrates a firearm having a rotationalsafety device with a first lever. The lever 120 is attached to an end ofthe safety member (not shown) and extends towards the top surface of thefirearm. FIG. 7 illustrates a user of a firearm using the rotationalsafety device of FIG. 6. As shown, the user is handling the firearm withthe user's hand over the top of the firearm, and in particular with theuser's thumb over the top of the firearm. As such, the lever isaccessible to the user's finger for rotationally setting the safety onand off by moving the lever forward or backward.

FIG. 8 illustrates a firearm having a rotational safety device with asecond lever. The lever 120 of FIG. 8 is attached to an end of thesafety member (not shown) and extends upwards towards the top surface ofthe firearm, but does not reach the top of the firearm. FIG. 9illustrates a user of a firearm using the rotational safety device ofFIG. 8. As shown, the user is handling the firearm with the user's handunderneath the firearm. The lever of FIG. 9 is positioned to allow auser's thumb to engage the lever to move it forward or backward, therebyrotating the safety member.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative guide pin 300 having a spring mountportion 302 which extends into the interior of spring 160 for engagementof the spring. The spring mount portion is sized to provide a frictionfit with the spring to provide a positive lock between the spring mountportion and the spring. The spring mount portion 302 can have achamfered leading edge 304 to assist in guiding the spring mount portioninto the spring. The length of the spring mount portion and the diameterthereof can vary depending upon the particular application.Alternatively no chamfered leading edge can be provided.

FIG. 11 illustrates another alternative guide pin 310 wherein the springmount portion 312 is sized to include a bore 314 for receipt of thespring 160. In this embodiment, the bore 314 is sized to provide afriction fit with the outside diameter of the spring coils to providelocking engagement with the spring. Alternatively, the bore can beslightly oversized so that no friction fit is provided. Guide pins 300,310 also include a trigger plate contact surface portion 306, 316respectively, slightly smaller in diameter than the trigger plate safetymechanism spring hole 330 shown in FIG. 1. Trigger plate contact surfaceportion 306 can have a chamfered leading edge 308 so that the guide pin300 slides smoothly within the trigger plate safety mechanism springhole 330. The length of trigger plate contact surface portion can varydepending upon the particular application as well as the angle to theleading chamfered end.

Guide pins 300 and 310 include safety member contact portions 303 and318, respectively. Safety member contact portions include a cylindricalportion 305, 320, a tapered portion 307, 322 and a nose portion 309,324. Safety member contact portions 303, 318 engage safety member 340shown in FIG. 12 by extending into bore 342 such that portion 305, 320engage sidewall 344 and tapered portion 307, 322 can toggle between twocone shaped recesses 346, 348 to move the safety device between thesafety on and safety off position. A round over 350 is positionedbetween cone shaped recesses 346, 348 to allow nose 309, 324 to make asmooth transition between recesses 346, 348. When positioned in eitherof recesses 346, 348 nose 309, 324 would be positioned in the center ofthe recess. Tapered portions 307, 322 can have the same angle as thetaper for recesses 346, 348. Interior wall 344 engages cylindricalportions 305, 320 to prevent rotation away from recesses 346, 348. Thesizes and shapes of the various components can be varied depending onthe particular application.

The present technology is described above with reference to exemplaryembodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications may be made and other embodiments can be usedwithout departing from the broader scope of the present technology. Forexample, the present technology may be implemented for right handedusers and left handed users. Therefore, these and other variations uponthe exemplary embodiments are intended to be covered by the presenttechnology.

What is claimed is:
 1. A firearm safety apparatus comprising: acylindrical safety member, the cylindrical safety is adapted to rotatebetween at least a first position and a second position within a holedisposed in a trigger housing of a firearm and includes a notchedregion, an unnotched region, and a plurality of positioning aperturespositioned in a bore in the unnotched region, wherein the notched regionis adapted to receive a rear portion of a trigger of the firearm withrespect to a firing direction of the firearm when the first cylindricalportion is in the first position and the notched region is adapted tonot receive the rear portion of the trigger when the first cylindricalportion is in the second position, wherein the unnotched region isadapted to face and abuttedly engage the rear portion of the triggerwhen the first cylindrical portion is in the second position and theunnotched region is adapted to not face the rear portion of the triggerwhen the first cylindrical portion is in the first position, and whereinthe positioning apertures are each adapted to successively engage aguide pin of the trigger housing of the firearm when the firstcylindrical portion is rotated within the hole between the firstposition and the second position.
 2. The firearm safety apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising a lever coupled to the cylindrical safetymember of the rotational replacement trigger safety.
 3. The firearmsafety apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bore comprises a guide walladapted to maintain the guide pin in alignment with the positioningapertures.
 4. The firearm safety apparatus of claim 3, wherein one ormore of the positioning apertures has a slanted sidewall.
 5. The firearmsafety apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first positioning aperture of theone or more of the positioning apertures abuttedly engages the guide pinwhen the first cylindrical safety member is in the first position. 6.The firearm safety apparatus of claim 5, wherein a second positioningaperture of the one or more of the positioning apertures abuttedlyengages the guide pin when the cylindrical safety member is in thesecond position.
 7. The firearm safety apparatus of claim 4, wherein theguide pin has a slanted nose portion and a cylindrical portion forengaging the guide wall of the bore.
 8. The firearm safety apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the guide pin has a spring engagement portion forreceipt for an end of a spring.
 9. The firearm safety apparatus of claim8, wherein the spring engagement portion is a post.
 10. The firearmsafety apparatus of claim 8, wherein the spring engagement portion is acylindrical portion having a bore.
 11. A firearm safety apparatus, thesafety apparatus comprising: a rotational replacement trigger safetyadapted to replace a safety of a firearm, the rotational replacementtrigger safety having a safety member, the safety member comprising acylindrical member adapted to rotate between at least a first positionand a second position within a hole disposed in a trigger housing of thefirearm, wherein the cylindrical member includes a notched region, anunnotched region, and a plurality of positioning apertures, wherein thenotched region is adapted to receive a rear portion of a trigger of thefirearm with respect to a firing direction of the firearm when thecylindrical member is in the first position and the notched region isadapted to not receive the rear portion of the trigger when thecylindrical member is in the second position, wherein the unnotchedregion is adapted to face and abuttedly engage the rear portion of thetrigger when the cylindrical member is in the second position and theunnotched region is adapted to not face the rear portion of the triggerwhen the cylindrical member is in the first position, wherein thepositioning apertures are adapted to successively engage a guide pin ofthe trigger housing of the firearm when the cylindrical member isrotated within the hole, and wherein the cylindrical member has a borewith a guide wall that engages the guide pin to maintain the guide pinin the positioning apertures positioned in a base of the bore.
 12. Thefirearm safety apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a lever coupledto the cylindrical member of the rotational replacement trigger safety.13. The firearm safety apparatus of claim 11, wherein one or more of thepositioning apertures has a slanted sidewall.
 14. The firearm safetyapparatus of claim 13, wherein a groove is positioned in the base of thebore between the positioning apertures.
 15. The firearm safety apparatusof claim 11, wherein a first positioning aperture of the one or more ofthe positioning apertures abuttedly engages the guide pin when thecylindrical member is in the first position.
 16. The firearm safetyapparatus of claim 15, wherein a second positioning aperture of the oneor more of the positioning apertures abuttedly engages the guide pinwhen the cylindrical member is in the second position.
 17. The firearmsafety apparatus of claim 16 wherein the guide pin has a slanted noseportion and a cylindrical portion for engaging the guide wall of thebore.
 18. The firearm safety apparatus of claim 11 wherein the guide pinhas a spring engagement portion for receipt for an end of a spring. 19.The firearm safety apparatus of claim 18, wherein the spring engagementportion is a post.
 20. The firearm safety apparatus of claim 18, whereinthe spring engagement portion is a cylindrical portion having a bore.